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Patient-centered, sports medicine-focused orthopedic care to athletes and non-athletes alike.Mon, 19 Mar 2018 19:48:09 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.4.14Meb Minuteshttps://www.omtspecialists.com/meb-minutes-promo/
Wed, 12 Mar 2014 01:48:49 +0000http://omtspecialists.wpengine.com/?p=440“Meb Minutes” is a weekly series of videos that gives an inside look into Meb’s preparation for Boston. Get training … read more]]>“Meb Minutes” is a weekly series of videos that gives an inside look into Meb’s preparation for Boston. Get training tips and a raw, inside look with no photo-shoot set-ups, no staged workouts, no re-do. We simply wanted to catch Meb “doing what he does” and he was nice enough to let us show up and do just that. We’ll cover topics from his mental approach and training philosophy to workouts, cross-training and “the small things” that have made his career long and successful. Find out what those “small things” are and how you can incorporate them into your training here on Meb Minutes.

A morning cup of coffee is a must for many runners. It wakes you up, energizes your workout, and—how can we say this nicely?—gets your systems moving, too. But there’s more reason to indulge in that second or third cup. The latest research shows that drinking coffee is a (mostly) healthy habit that may make you happier and less stressed, and reduce risk for diseases. Caffeine isn’t the only beneficial compound in coffee—it’s also a rich source of antioxidants, which means decaf drinkers benefit, too.

Power Performance
Researchers from the U.K. gave cyclists and triathletes a drink with 350 mg of caffeine, coffee with an equal amount of caffeine, decaf coffee, or a placebo drink. One hour later the participants performed a cycling test. The caffeine group and regular coffee group performed equally well—and both were faster than the placebo and decaf groups.

Improve Mood
According to a National Institutes of Health study, adults who drink four cups or more of coffee daily are about 10 percent less likely to be depressed than non-coffee drinkers. A recent study from the Harvard School of Public Health suggests that drinking two or more cups daily of caffeinated coffee significantly lowers the risk of suicide. Scientists think caffeine may work as a mild antidepressant by impacting neurotransmitters, such as dopamine.

Lower Heart-Disease Risk
A study review published in the journal Circulation found that moderate coffee intake (three to four cups a day) is associated with a significant reduction in heart-disease risk. And a recent animal study suggests that coffee may positively impact blood vessel function and bloodflow.

Dodge Diabetes
A meta-analysis in the European Journal of Nutrition stated that for every two cups of regular or decaf coffee you consume per day, your risk for type 2 diabetes decreases by 10 to 12 percent. The greatest risk reduction is in drinkers with healthy BMI, which means coffee may help already-slim runners ward off the disease.

Enhance Brain Function
Research shows that the antioxidants in coffee may help protect the brain from cognitive loss and delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. For two to four years, researchers tracked participants who were 65 and older and had mild cognitive loss. Subjects who averaged about three cups of coffee daily over that time frame did not progress to Alzheimer’s, while those who consumed less than that amount were more likely to develop the disease.

Protect Your Liver
A review of liver disease research shows that consuming one to two cups of coffee (not just caffeinated beverages) per day can protect this organ, especially for those at risk of poor liver health, such as people who drink more than two alcoholic beverages a day.

Relieve Stress
Take a whiff of coffee and you’ll likely feel better. That’s because coffee contains volatile aroma compounds that affect mood. When mice undergoing maze testing are exposed to these compounds, it reduces their arousal level, exerting an antianxiety effect.

You’ve been hard at work in preparation for the upcoming season. You’ve … read more

]]>Friday, February 14, 2014 | By Chris Burnham

You’ve been hard at work in preparation for the upcoming season. You’ve set your goals, gone to the gym, and put in the miles. Then, the unthinkable happens. A little irritation in your knee, hip, or ankle starts. At first you choose to ignore it, but soon you are limping around the house and struggling to make it up the stairs. Visions of your season start slipping away. You start to wonder if you will ever run or ride-pain free again.

You’re sidelined by injury. An endurance athlete’s worst nightmare.

When overuse injuries start, the typical, and best, immediate prescription is the RICE method: Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. However, what’s missing from the acronym is one more important but oft-neglected component to recovery: nutrition. By paying close attention to your diet during the healing process, you can expedite your recovery and get back on track sooner.

Stages of Injury

First, some background on the anatomy of an injury. There are three distinct phases to soft tissue injuries:

1. Inflammation (1 to 4 days)

Regardless of the type of injury, there is typically a disruption of the nutrient-rich blood flow and oxygen which results in cellular death. In an attempt to clear out the dead cells and start the creation of new cells, the body initiates the inflammatory response. This process is usually characterized by pain, swelling or bruising, redness or heat.

2. The Proliferative Phase (4 to 21 days)

After the dead and damaged cells have been removed, the inflammation will start to subside and new vasculation will have been laid down. That new vasculature will provide oxygen and nutrients to start rebuilding tissue. This new tissue is often called scar tissue. Athletes can often start very light exercise in this phase, but should stop if inflammation returns.

3. Injury Remodeling (21 days to 2 years)

Eventually, the scar tissue formed in the proliferative phase will be replaced with type I collagen, which is much stronger and will restore the injury site to at least 80% of its original strength. During this phase, the athlete can start to resume activities to help the scar tissue become more functional.

Caloric Intake

During these phases our nutritional needs will vary. Initially, it is not uncommon for an athlete to try and turn the “lemon” of getting injured into “lemonade” by cutting calories to lose weight, but this often delays healing. When injured, our body actually has an increase in energy demands. Resting metabolic rates are often 15 – 50% higher after a sports injury depending on the severity of the injury. Reducing caloric intake during these times can drastically delay healing1. A good rule of thumb is make sure you are getting in 20% more calories than your resting metabolic rate. This is often less than when an athlete is training, but more than the sedentary baseline intake.

Omega-3 Fats

After the initial 1 – 4 day inflammation period, it may be good to emphasize omega-3 fat intake and eliminate or drastically reduce omega-6 fats. There is growing evidence that reducing omega-6 fats and including more omega-3 fats can be extremely beneficial in reducing inflammation and promoting wound healing2. Omitting vegetable fats that are rich in omega-6 fats, and increasing fish oil (or algae sources of omega-3 supplements) can dramatically help the healing process. A good goal early on in the inflammation process is to achieve a 3:1 to 1:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats. Beyond the omega-6:omega-3 ratio, it has been shown that consuming monounsaturated fats (found in nuts, seeds, and olive oil) may also reduce inflammatory enzymes3.

Protein

Protein needs are also elevated during the proliferative phase and after to allow the body to start forming new tissue. The current clinical recommendation for injured athletes is to get in 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body weight. It may also be beneficial to include an amino acid supplement containing glutamine and arginine, as these have shown to speed up the healing process in the body4.

Glucose

Glucose is needed for wound healing but is less critical than the above nutrients. Ideally, eating unprocessed carbohydrates to achieve micronutrient intake and keep blood sugars level is all that is required. All phases of recovery will benefit from Vitamin A, C, Copper, and Zinc and should be prioritized in food choices during periods of injury. Foods that are often high in these micronutrients are also high in flavonoids (plant chemicals that often function as pigment in fruits and vegetables) that can lead to a more pronounced anti-inflammatory response. Look for dark fruits and vegetables to increase your flavonoid and micronutrient intake.

Herbal Supplements

Herbs can also be beneficial in managing inflammation and helping healing. Turmeric is a great addition to an athlete’s diet during periods of injury, to control inflammation. Garlic has also been shown to be beneficial to in inhibiting inflammatory enzymes as well, although you may require a supplement to reach effective dosing5.

While all these recommendations are extra critical for injured athletes, they can also be extremely beneficial in avoiding injuries in the first place. Keep track of what you’re eating by keeping a food journal, and review it frequently to make sure that you are meeting your needs. If you’re proactive and include a few of these suggestions into your diet now, you may even be able to prevent that achy knee before it starts.

About the author

Chris Burnham is a USAC Level 1 coach and owner of Burnham Coaching based in Monterey California. He has over 13 years of coaching experience working with endurance athletes ranging from beginners to professionals.

When we think about our sports nutrition…what’s going to make it “golden?” On … read more

]]>Thursday, April 11, 2013/ By Craig David

When we think about our sports nutrition…what’s going to make it “golden?” On track, top notch, or better than average? In my opinion every athlete who is serious about performance should aim to have top notch sports nutrition habits. Our bodies have become these machines – dealing with everyday stress, stress of long and hard workouts, and stress under sleep deprivation. Nutrition is crucial to enabling your body to process the stress and nurture the body to higher performance.

In order to understand what comprises the golden rules of sports nutrition we first need to identify its ultimate goals. When we work with clients and are building their nutrition programs, sometimes we say things like “This may not make sense now, but it will in time” as we do things that may seem counter-intuitive at first – such as increasing their calories to actually lose weight (see, you don’t think it makes sense either, do you)! Why is this relevant? Because we need to comprehend the notion that in sport, whether it is endurance or strength, we are asking our bodies to do extraordinary things; so, we must feed it in extraordinary ways.

That said, the goals of sports nutrition can be categorized into four general buckets: understanding the stress response in relation to exercise, being able to control blood sugar before/during/after a training session, advancing recovery with different nutrients at different times, and to minimize the effects of cortisol.

Based on these main goals, here are the Five Golden Rules of Sports Nutrition.

(Drumroll, please…)

1) Avoid working out on an empty stomach.

If you haven’t eaten within the 2 hours prior to training grab a banana, an electrolyte drink, or something else that is light to keep your blood sugar steady.

For shorter workouts (less than 45 minutes) a piece of fruit would suffice. Make sure it’s fruit that your stomach is familiar with and can easily digest.

For a workout that’s 60-90 minutes, consider adding an electrolyte drink 1/3 or halfway through to ensure your body has a constant flow of carbs, and to prevent dehydration.

With a workout over 90 or 120 minutes, then you’ll want to consider taking in a combination of liquid hydration such as Skratch Labs drink mix, along with some form of solid food: bar, rice, boiled potato, etc. Find out what works for you in terms of liquid and whole foods and you’ll be ahead of the competition!

2) Don’t miss your breakfast.

This seems to set the tone for how your body utilizes nutrients throughout the day. We often hear that people “aren’t hungry” when they get ready for the day, and that’s perfectly okay. What I’d recommend is to start with something simple like an egg and a piece of fruit, or a glass of milk and a granola bar. Try being consistent for a week, let your body adjust to having nutrients in the morning and then you can progress from there.

Blood sugar should rise and be more stable with a protein/carb combo. For more sustained energy, add in some healthy fats; for example add avocado to that egg or put some almond butter in a smoothie or on your toast. You’ll stay full for hours to come and energy for that mid-day workout will be better than expected.

3) Have the meals 2-3 days prior to your event all planned out.

In doing so, you’ll ensure your body has what it needs for your event and the tank is “topped off” so to speak. We see so many athletes “wing it” and then wonder why they bonk or get dizzy or feel lethargic on race day.

To make planning easier, stick with foods you already know you like and won’t create any stomach distress. Stay away from foods with a high saturated fat content, or high fiber content. You’ll always want to match up a carb with a protein – stick to a 2:1 or 3:1 carb to protein ratio so insulin is in check and blood sugar stays stable. And yes, I’m recommending you cook it ahead of time! Pack your lunch, pull a pre-made dinner meal out of the freezer, plan your breakfast for race day and get up an hour earlier to give it plenty of time to digest. Trust me, you’ll thank yourself!

No need to overthink it, but do keep in mind that “failing to plan is planning for failure.”

4) Never skip your recovery meal.

If you’re skipping recovery nutrition, you’re skipping out on the ability to produce results from your training program. Figure out what recovery protocol works for your training, implement it within the precious 30-45 minutes after your workout, and eat within another 90 minutes after that…watch your performance soar.

Why do we recommend that athletes eat within 30-45 minutes after their session? Science shows us the good old “recovery window” starts to close within 45-60 minutes. Liquid recovery nutrition seems to be easier on the stomach, digests quicker and can be more convenient to use if you’re not at home to prep anything. Stash a protein shake or some amino acids in your gear bag so you can down it when you’re done. Then, when you get home, get in an equally distributed meal: some complex carbs, protein, vegetables and some omega fats. This will again, re-stabilize blood sugar and keep your body moving forward!

5) Get in a nutrient-dense snack before bed.

By nutrient-dense I mean some healthy fats, nuts, berries, protein – foods that will not spike blood sugar, but help keep it from dropping during the night.

Oftentimes we’ll get the question, “Shouldn’t I not eat after X time in the evening?” I guess you could say there’s a mental benefit to feeling good about not overeating or self control about what you’re putting into your body. However, from the perspective of fueling for sport, there’s not a lot of physiological benefit to fasting before bed; we know blood sugar is rapidly depleted during sleep to sustain the body’s processes. Furthermore, if we restrict nutrient intake, what would the body rebuild from during the evening?

I think the question to ask yourself is not, “Am I going to eat?” but rather, “What kind of food would be best for my body at this time of day?” Our athlete body is in constant motion, and in constant need of fueling and rebuilding itself. The worst thing an athlete of any kind can do is to restrict nutrients in hopes of improving performance. It just doesn’t work!

As you can see there’s a lot of rocket science going on (totally joking)! Now that you know the rules, ask yourself, “Is my nutrition ‘top notch’? Am I adhering to the golden rules?” Is your answer no, maybe or sometimes? Unless it’s a definite “yes,” you need to step back and consider your training load. Consider how much stress it is on the body. If you implement sports nutrition in such a way that it’s as high of a priority as training, you’ll create efficiencies and gains you’ve never seen before. Give it a try.

About the author

Craig David is the owner of the Max Muscle Sports Nutrition franchise in Boulder, CO and is a Certified Sports Nutritionist. Born and raised in Colorado, Craig grew up surrounded by the mountains, a small town atmosphere, farming, skiing and aviation. Upon graduation, Craig received a B.S. in Health and Exercise Science & Nutrition for Colorado State University. His career highlights include an internship at the White House Athletic Club in Washington, D.C. training some of the nation’s finest. He also has extensive experience in performance gear testing, horizontal power testing, and cardio pulmonary testing. Today you’ll find Craig speaking to high school and collegiate sport teams, working with the local SWAT teams, designing custom nutrition programs for the high-end professional athlete to engaging the average person in a corporate wellness education seminar. Join him in the pursuit of a healthy lifestyle! Find him at C.David[at]MaxMuscleBoulder[dot]com or www.MaxMuscleBoulder.com.

Spring is around the corner and many athletes will finally get back … read more

]]>Monday, March 3, 2014 | By Lindsay Hyman

Spring is around the corner and many athletes will finally get back to riding and running outside. With that comes a bump in motivation, but it can also lead to injuries. You get excited about your workouts, being outside again and you feel like a superhero. Then one day your knee is a little sore after a ride. You push through it for the next few days and now it’s hurting when you walk as well as when you ride. Finally someone notices you wince as you go down the stairs. “I’m fine,” you say, but in reality you’re suffering from an overuse injury.

What causes overuse injuries?

Overuse injuries are often caused by mechanical fatigue when tendons, ligaments, muscles and other soft tissues become excessively fatigued without adequate recovery. Frequently, endurance athletes experience overuse injuries such as IT-Band syndrome and patella or Achilles tendonitis due to abruptly increasing training volume or intensity with poor biomechanics and insufficient rest. Typically, it is not one training session that brings on an overuse injury; they typically result from repetitive trauma to tendons, bones and joints.

So, how can you take advantage of your early-season enthusiasm but still avoid an overuse injury?
Follow these 5 guidelines:

1. Increase training load gradually.

A general rule of thumb in endurance sport is to not increase training load more than 10% week over week and I tend to be conservative and recommend 8% to be on the safe side. For example, if you are riding a total of 6-hours this week a 10% increase would equal about 30 minutes, which means the following week training should be capped around 6.5-hours. By logging your training in TrainingPeaks® you can also track your training progression through Performance Management Chart (PMC). The Chronic Training Load (CTL) takes into consideration both volume and intensity of your training to measure the increased chronic stress of training over a period of time.

2. Pay attention to mechanics.

Improper technique is also a major factor in tendonitis types of injuries, especially in endurance sports that feature highly repetitive motions. If a cyclist has a poor bike fit and they ride for 1-hour at 85rpm, they are pedaling 5,100 revolutions with a cycling position that is potentially aggravating tendons in the ankle, knee, or hip! If you’re attentive and address the problem quickly you can often prevent it from becoming a chronic injury.

3. Include sufficient rest.

Your body is amazing at adapting to training stress and even adapting to changes in your biomechanics. But adaptation takes time and recovery. Ideally, athletes should include at least 1 day of complete rest for every 7 to 10 days of training.

4. Identify good pain versus bad pain.

Good pain is a result of overload from a training program that features progression. If you’re adapting well to the training, soreness or pain will be absent the next day and you’ll have the energy for a high-quality workout. Pain that remains present and relatively constant throughout a workout, even if it lessens a bit after a good warmup, is an indication that you’re pushing beyond your body’s ability to recover.

5. Warm up properly.

A proper warm up may last 10-20 minutes depending on the length and intensity of your training session. A more intense training session may require a slightly longer warm-up period. The jury is still out on whether stretching– dynamic or static– reduces the likelihood of tendonitis, but you can’t go wrong by increasing blood flow to working muscles through a warm-up routine.

Treating an existing injury

If you suspect you might have an overuse injury, the first step in early treatment should be the tried and true R.I.C.E. protocol:

R. Rest, determine the necessary amount of rest. Typically 1-3 days of complete rest may be best at first for you to assess how severe your overuse injury may be.

I. Ice, apply ice to the tender area a couple of times a day for 10-15 minute periods; specifically after your training session.

C. Compress, if there is excessive swelling apply compression after icing. If excessive swelling continues for multiple days seek a medical professional for advice.

If you’re an endurance athlete with training or competition goals that are important to you, visit a physical therapist if you’re experiencing symptoms of an overuse injury. There may be treatments and specific exercises you can do to accelerate your recovery. When you’re ready to get back to training work with a certified coach or biomechanics expert to assess your cycling position, running form and/or swimming technique to ensure you are incorporating appropriate technique. Of course in the future you will want to utilize the 5 guidelines above to avoid an overuse injury in the first place. Rember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

A very import step upon returning to active training is to make sure you are re-conditioning your body to operate with proper biomechanics. This may mean taking a step back in the intensity of your training so you can focus on technique for a while, and then begin increasing training load by a conservative 5-8% per week for the first 2-3 weeks back to training.

About the author

Lindsay Hyman has a Masters of Science in Exercise Physiology, is a Pro Level coach with Carmichael Training Systems, and is a USA Triathlon Level 2 certified coach. She has been coaching for 11 years and works with athletes looking to finish their first Ironman to athletes who have won at the World Championships in Kona. Lindsay’s passion for triathlon began at the age of 7 at a local Ironkids race and she still competes in ultra-endurance events today. Her coaching philosophy is to provide indispensable tools, education, and experience to develop an athlete’s potential within sport and in life. For information on personal coaching, training camps, and Endurance Bucket List events, visit trainright.com.

I was asked to teach a class in beginning running a few months after opening my specialty running store, Phidippides in 1973. Through this class I saw an opportunity to help non-runners enjoy the benefits of running. Since business was slow at the store, I also wanted to increase the number of potential customers.

During the class I discovered that none of my students had been running for at least five years. About one third had never done any regularly scheduled exercise during their lifetime. During the first lap around the track I realized that walk breaks would be crucial if I wanted each class member to finish either a 5K or 10K without injury or exhaustion.

As I ran with each group, I focused on breathing rate. The “huff and puff” rule emerged: when you hear huffing and puffing, take more frequent walk breaks and slow the pace.

Throughout the first class, I adjusted the run-walk-run amounts so that each person felt successful in completing the distance – which gradually increased during one run each week. Most admitted that they started to look forward to each run because of the improved attitude during and afterward.

At the end of the 10 week term was the “exam”: either a 5K or a 10K. Each student finished! When I polled each at the end I received my best reward: none of them had been injured!

During the next two years, I experimented with various ratios of walk breaks as I worked with beginning runners at my store. In 1976, Galloway Training Program began. I continued to find that walk breaks could almost eliminate injury.

Many of the veteran marathoners refused to take walk breaks at first. As the former beginners moved into longer distance events such as marathons, they continued to adjust to walk breaks and started to record faster times than the veterans. This led to the use of walk breaks in all pace groups.

Principles behind run-walk-run:

• Continuous use of a muscle will result in quicker fatigue

• The longer the run segment, the more fatigue

• Run-walk-run is a form of interval training

• Conservation of resources

• Quicker recovery

• Less stress on the “weak links”

• Ability to enjoy endorphins

• Reduce core body temperature

The Galloway run-walk-run method

• A smart way to run – by giving you congnitive control over each workout.

• Allows you to carry on all of your life activities – even after long runs

• Motivates beginners to get off of the couch and run

• Bestows running joy to non-stop runners who had given up

• Helps improve finish times in all races

• Gives all runners control over fatigue

• Delivers all of the running enhancements without exhaustion or pain

Why do some runners have trouble taking walk breaks?

Research has shown that the lessons in the early school years are powerfully embedded in the subconscious brain. While it is natural to feel anxious and then receive negative hormones when we depart from these hard-wired patterns, concious actions can re-train this ancient brain. The cognitive focus on specific run segments/set amount of walks can hard-wire new patterns into the reflex brain. This gives you control over your attitude as you feel the positive results from using strategic walk breaks. Through the use of mantras and systematic actions, you empower the concious brain to take control. This frontal lobe component can over-ride the subconcious brain and retrain it to accept and embrace run-walk-run.

Walk breaks…

• Speed you up: an average of 7 minutes faster in a 13.1 mile race when non-stop runners

• Shift to the correct run-walk-run ratio – and more than 13 minutes faster in the marathon

• Give you control over the way you feel during and after

• Erase fatigue

• Push back your wall of exhaustion or soreness

• Allow for endorphins to collect during each walk break

• Break up the distance into manageable units

• Speed recovery

• Reduce the chance of aches, pains and injury

• Allow older or heavier runners to recover fast, and feel as good as in the younger (slimmer) days

• Activate the frontal lobe – maintaining your control over attitude and motivation

How to determine the right run-walk-run ratio? Use the Magic Mile prediction tool.

About Jeff Galloway:

Over a million runners and walkers have read Galloway books, attended his retreats / running schools, received E-coaching or individual consultation or joined his training programs. His doable plans have opened up the life-changing experience of finishing a distance event to almost everyone. His methods have reduced aches, pains and injuries to almost zero. Jeff is in front of an audience motivating and teaching over 200 times a year–helping those of all abilities to enjoy exercise until they are 100!

US Olympian, 1972, 10,000 meters (also an alternate on the marathon team)

We all would love to see our kids as Olympic Champions–but is training them now

We all would love to see our kids as Olympic Champions–but is training them now a wise idea?

By Hal Higdon

Steven Poskus remembers with pride the day his son Daniel, age four, asked him, “Can I be a runner too?” Poskus happily obliged. He signed his son up for the Monster Mash Dash, a short-distance event for children connected with a Trick or Treat 5-K on the Chicago lakefront one October.

Daniel trained for several weeks, running with his grandmother. On race day, his parents pinned Daniel’s number on the front of his shirt. “He stretched and drank water before the race, just like adult runners do,” recalls Poskus. When the announcer called the runners to the start, Daniel was the first one on the line–and he was the first one crossing the line 50 yards later!

“I have never seen him more excited than the moment he knew he had won,” beams Poskus. “Just the look on his face was priceless. I was very, very proud. My only dilemma is that now he wants to race all the time.”

A future Olympic champion? Or is Daniel only going through a phase, soon to pass on to soccer, Nintendo, even girls?

Fat rather than fitter children

Hopefully Daniel Poskus will maintain his interest in running and/or other forms of exercise through a long and healthy life, but the sad fact is that too many of our children are getting fatter, rather than fitter. Jordan Metzl, M.D., medical director of the Sports Medicine Institute for Young Athletes at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, says sadly that in the last 25 years, obesity in children has more than doubled. “We’re becoming a nation of couch potatoes,” admits Dr. Metzl.

Senior Writer John Brant ably documented this problem in the September 2000 issue of Runner’s World: “To a potentially catastrophic degree, our kids have stopped moving. One quarter of Americans under age 19 are overweight. Worse, approximately 5.3 million kids, or 12 percent of all youths aged 6 to 17, are seriously overweight.”

Blame television and video games and car-pooling kids to school instead of having them walk, but our school systems also have failed abysmally in providing exercise opportunities during the admittedly crowded school day. Because of budget crunches, physical education programs have been all but eliminated (along with art and music) in many school systems. At Alimacani Elementary School in Jacksonville, Florida, Jan Tipton is the single physical education teacher supervising 1,250 children. “I see each class once every 10 days,” admits Tipton. “I like to think I make an impact, because of the support from many classroom teachers, who are good at motivating their students to run during recess. But until schools start providing physical education at least three days a week, we’ll have a hard time meeting our exercise goals.”

Fitness can be fun

Yet ironically, children’s running is on the rise. A growing minority of running parents and their children have discovered that fitness can be fun. More and more road races have begun to add side events for youngsters. In Huntsville, Alabama each fall, a thousand children participate in a program where they ran a total of 25 miles in school over a period of several months, then ran a final 1.2 miles at The Rocket City Marathon to complete the classic 26.2-mile distance. The Gate River Run in Jacksonville had 2,600 kids participate in the Adidas Junior River Run, four separate mile races for different age groups in March. The Dominick’s Youth Run, held the day before the Chicago Marathon, attracted 1,400 sons and daughters of those who would be running 26.2 miles the next day.

“Increasingly, organizers of road races from 5-K to the marathon have begun to add short-distance events for children to their mix of weekend activities,” says Linda Honikman of the USATF Road Running Information Center. “They do it to please the running parents–or because they are running parents themselves.” While participation of junior (19 and under) runners in marathons has diminished in the last two decades from 5 percent to less than 2 percent, participation in 5-K races is on the rise for those in that category.

These aren’t young age-group runners, but rather children who show up at a road race with their running parents and participate on their own level. But age-group cross-country meets also have shown an increase in numbers with several national championships to lure the fittest of the fit.

Boom in children’s running

Running currently is undergoing a second boom, but if there is to be a third boom, it may be fueled by youngsters. The first running boom began in the mid 1970s, mainly middle-aged Baby-Boomers, men who were looking to lose a few pounds and get in shape by running 10-K races. The second running boom started in the late 1990s, continuing today, fueled by young women, seemingly the daughters of those Baby-Boomers. Their goals were the same as their fathers–weight control, good health–although they focused more on finishing marathons rather than running fast. The next running boom may feature kids, the grandchildren of those Baby-Boomers. If so, the parents and grandparents will need to supply both motivation and opportunities.

But is running good for children? Can running while young stunt growth or cause injuries? And even if there is no physical damage, what about psychological damage? Will children forced to train by overeager running (i.e., “Little League”) parents lose interest in the sport by the time they reach the age when it might do them the most good?

Running has profited from increased participation in soccer in the United States. Soccer Moms often convert to Running Moms if there is a 5-K or a race with a children’s component on the weekend. Soccer is a sport that features near continuous running, so it is easy to shift from that sport to pure running. While soccer programs sometimes drain participants away from track and cross-country at the high school level, experts agree that kids chasing after a ball, or after each other, promote health habits that can endure after they become adults. You can’t say that about mainstream sports such as football or baseball.

Positive conditioning vs. negative punishment

Coaches in mainstream sports, as well as physical education teachers, also finally have begun to recognize the benefits of running as a form of positive conditioning as opposed to negative punishment. In the past, team athletes who missed a tackle or a free throw often would be told to “run two laps.” That has faded somewhat with at least the more progressive coaches preaching the positive benefits of aerobic exercises, but unfortunately not all physicians give running their active endorsement.

For example, the American Academy of Pediatrics worried about the dangers of children running long distances in a policy statement, published in 1990 and reaffirmed in 1994. The Academy warned against “epiphyseal plate injuries, stress fractures, patellofemoral syndrome and chronic tendonitis” and suggested the incidence of such injuries relates to the volume of training. Children apparently are less efficient at regulating their temperature while running, which can be a problem if running much further than two or three miles on a warm or cold day.

The AAP also worried about psychic damage when children (or their parents) set unrealistic goals and fail to meet them. Admittedly, not every child has the potential to become the Olympic marathon champion, but not every student basketball or football player has the talent to succeed in the NBA. or NFL. And while incidence of injuries (shin splints, sore knees, turned ankles) may be higher among runners than athletes in other sports (girl cross-country runners are near the top of the “most injured” list), those injuries inevitably are significantly less than those suffered by a running back nailed by a linebacker or a batter hit by a pitched ball. Concussions cause more long-term damage than shin splints.

Unfortunately, the American Academy of Pediatrics, while alerting doctors of the “dangers” of high-volume training, failed to set any limit on miles run either in training or in racing. The Academy also seemed to have an unrealistic idea as to how many miles children were running or what races they were entering. The Academy began its Policy Statement with the comment: “It is not unusual for an aspiring prepubescent athlete to run 10 to 15 miles daily and to participate in distance races, including marathons.” But despite what the Academy believes, it is very unusual for boys or girls age 14 or less to run anywhere near that much. A few high school cross-country teams run at that level, but very few. And while young children sometimes do 5-K races, they rarely run marathons these days.

“The number of (prepubescent) youngsters in marathons is tiny,” states Honikman of the USATF Road Running Information Center. Honikman recalls meeting a 12-year-old at the Carlsbad 5-K this year who had completed the City of Los Angeles Marathon the month before, but adds: “That kind of long distance participation is very isolated to just a few events and a few regions.” Many major marathons refuse to accept entries from athletes of high school age. Boston sets its limit at age 18; Chicago at age 16. And there seems to be little pressure among responsible running parents to break those barriers. As for whether or not young runners train 10 to 15 miles daily, if that was the case, running kids would be seen everywhere, and they are not.

Young marathon phenoms

Kids running marathons was more a phenomenon at the beginning of the first running boom, rather than today. Beginning in the early 1970s, there was a rash of youngsters setting age-group records that slowed, if not stopped, soon after publications such as Runner’s World stopped publicizing such efforts. Wesley Paul ran his first marathon with his father at age seven and ran 2:38 in 1977 at age 14. Mary Etta Boitano ran in her first marathon at age five 1968, failing to finish, but did 3:01 at age 10. Neither ever made an Olympic team, but a quarter century later both Paul and Boitano (now Blanchard) still enjoy running and hope to inspire their children to follow their footsteps. So much for psychic damage!

“My father and I simply went out and ran 60 or 90 minutes a day,” says Paul of his training. “When race day came along, I just got caught in the flow. I don’t compete now, but it’s hard for me to imagine my life without my daily running regimen.” Blanchard scoffs at the idea that running high mileage might set children up for later-life injuries or stunt their growth. “If you’re talking ‘injuries,’ what about heart disease, because you’re overweight or fail to exercise?” she asks. “As for growth, I’m 5 feet 5 inches tall. My brother Mike probably trained harder than me and is 6 feet 3 inches.” Wesley Paul is 6 feet 2 inches, six inches taller than his father and the same size as his brother who doesn’t run.

Yet children–like adults–differ in their ability to absorb training. Some genetically gifted youngsters seem to have the ability to float across the ground and run forever. Others may need closer parental supervision. Dr. Metzl (who has run 13 marathons, Boston seven times) says this is particularly true at puberty: between 8 and 12 for girls and 10 and 14 for boys. “There is some risk that excessive running can damage the growth plates,” he admits. “As to what is ‘excessive,’ there’s no research that would provide us with an exact number. I’m comfortable with children running distances up to 5-K and 10-K, if they’re properly trained. I’m not a believer in kids under 18 running marathons, and those under 14 should probably stay on the down side of 13 miles.”

Positives outweigh negatives

Nevertheless, Dr. Metzl agrees that the positive aspects of running so outweigh the negative risks that running parents should do everything possible to inspire their children to take up running and other forms of exercise. The link between obesity and other illnesses is strong; cardiovascular disease has been diagnosed even in teenagers. A child training for a 5-K is probably going to be less tempted to experiment with cigarettes or drugs or to hang around with “friends” who climb into a car after downing a six-pack of beer. Kenneth H. Cooper, M.D. suggests that a healthy lifestyle that includes appropriate amounts of exercise can add six to nine years to your life and contribute greatly to the quality of that life.

When it comes to converting children into runners–competitive or recreational–your example, the running lifestyle you lead, may work better than lectures on fitness. Michael Farrell, an educator from Fort Smith, Arkansas, brought his family with him to the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon and watched proudly as his son James, age nine, prowled the aisles collecting autographs from celebrities such as Bill Rodgers, Joe Henderson and, yes, Hal Higdon. James had only done a little previous running to get ready for a 5-K, but was in good shape from playing soccer and roller hockey. The next day, James jumped into the marathon at 21 miles to run the last 5 miles with his father, who was en route to his first marathon finish in 4:33.

James crossed the finish line and turned to his father, “Hey, Dad, when you run the Marine Corps Marathon next fall, can I run the last 5 miles with you again?”

Amidst the intervals, data, devices, diets and all the other ways that … read more

]]>Wednesday, February 26, 2014 | By Jim Vance

Amidst the intervals, data, devices, diets and all the other ways that athletes are trying to “gain an edge” in endurance training, it can be easy to forget the basics. The number one most important rule of training, which is often forgotten, is consistency. There is no training program or workout any coach can devise that can make up for a lack of consistency in training. The higher your goals are as an athlete, the more important consistency is.

“As a coach, I repeatedly see the differences in performance and improvement between the athlete who is consistent in their training and the athlete who isn’t.”

As a coach, I repeatedly see the differences in performance and improvement between the athlete who is consistent in their training and the athlete who isn’t. You lose fitness at a rate of almost three times as fast as you gain it, so missing a workout or two may not hurt you, but miss a few on a regular basis and you will have a hard time making performance gains. You have to make training a daily priority.

Chronic Training Load

One of the best ways to see how consistent you are in your training is to follow your Chronic Training Load (CTL) in your Performance Management Chart (PMC). The PMC is a Premium feature within TrainingPeaks® and is also available in TrainingPeaks WKO+.

Your CTL is a 42 day exponentially-weighted average of your daily Training Stress Score® (TSS®). It is very representative of your fitness level since it rises slowly as you accumulate workouts, but falls very quickly when workouts are missed. Your daily TSS score is determined after a swim, bike or run automatically provided you have set your Functional Threshold Power, Threshold Pace or Threshold Heart Rate values. On the bike, power is the most accurate way to measure TSS while on the run pace is the most accurate measurement. In both cases, heart rate can also be used to gain an accurate TSS value. An accurate daily TSS is crucial to maintaining an accurate CTL. You can read more about TSS and threshold here.

Consistency and Peak Performance

Here’s an example of excellent consistency represented by the nice, steady climb of the CTL (blue line). This is pictured in TrainingPeaks WKO+ desktop software.

You can see this athlete’s CTL rising at about 10% every two weeks through the final 5 plus months heading into the peak CTL and taper. Though the amount of your increase may vary on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, this consistent rate of increase in the CTL shows the athlete has been very consistent in training. A steady increase in training stress average also helps to limit injuries, sickness and over-training, which leads to performance gains.

Here’s an example of an athlete who lacks consistency in their run training. The blue CTL line doesn’t rise steadily, has large gaps and drops, and never really changes much in value from late January to mid-September, (low of about 20, high of about 33).

You’ll notice in the inconsistent chart that I overlaid the athlete’s top 10 run performances for different time intervals, ranging from 6 minutes to 2 hours, for this period (speed is in kph). Where the athlete had the most consistent and steady training, in the first third of the chart, is where the largest concentration of top 10 performances are. This isn’t just a coincidence.

Now look at this next PMC and you can see the lack of consistent training for the first half of the year, before the athlete changes and gets consistent in his training. The result is a huge concentration of top 10 performance outputs from 6 minutes to 2 hours, all clustered near each other, as the athlete heads into his peak race.

This is visual, graphic proof of the benefit of consistency in training. An athlete wants to see their best performances of the season happening in the most recent past and in the build-up to their “A” race, not spread out randomly over the course of the season.

Prescribing Correct Training Loads

Take a closer look at your PMC, specifically your CTL, and assess how consistent you were throughout your season. You can also look to cross-reference these charts with your TrainingPeaks training log to see when you might have over-reached in your training, wreaking havoc on your consistency. This allows you to better assess how to prescribe your training loads in the future.

Get your consistency right, make your training a daily priority and you will likely see a great PMC. More than just a good looking chart with clusters of your best performances, you will achieve results when it matters the most.

Good luck!

About the author

Jim Vance is a Level 2 USAT Coach, an Elite Coach for TrainingBible Coaching, Head Coach of Formula Endurance, and is a former elite triathlete.

You’ve just rolled your ankle. Once the cursing subsides, it’s time to focus on controlling … read more

]]>Jeremy Hassler March 7, 2013

You’ve just rolled your ankle. Once the cursing subsides, it’s time to focus on controlling the swelling. Here are your options to ice a sprained ankle efficiently:

The Classic Bag

The standard sandwich or Ziploc bag that most people reach for works fine. Fill it with ice—crushed, flaked, or pellet for the best conformity to your foot. Leave space to tie it off or zip up. Remove as much air from the bag as possible to improve the conformity of the bag and keep the temperature consistent around the ankle. Place the ice bag over the injured area and then an elastic wrap around the bag and your foot and ankle to provide compression. Ice and elevate the injured area above your heart for 20- to 30-minute sessions several times throughout the day during the first 24 to 72 hours after injury.

The Ideal Scenario

Wet an ace bandage or elastic wrap so it’s damp, but not dripping. Wrap it around your foot beginning at the base of the toes and spiraling up around the ankle and up the leg. Wrap tightly near the toes and more gently as you work your way up the leg. Lightly pinch the nail of one of your toes in with your thumb and index finger so the color in your nail disappears. If color does not return within a couple seconds, the wrap is too tight. This wet base layer improves the conductivity of the ice bag and helps prevent potential freezer burn on your skin. Place the ice bag over the base layer and wrap with a dry layer to hold the ice in place and create compression.

Ice Bag Alternatives

Slush Pack

A slush pack is a simple alternative that is created with a combination of rubbing alcohol and water. The benefits of this method are that it’s more comfortable to wear and conforms to your foot better than regular ice bags. Here’s how to make one:

Combine 1 cup rubbing alcohol and 3 cups water.

Pour this combo into a gallon-sized Ziploc bag.

Slide this into another bag to prevent spillage.

Stick it in the freezer overnight.

Wrap around the injured area the same way you would an ice bag.

Water and Gel Sheets

Water and gel sheets—available at most pharmacies—can be frozen in your freezer and inserted into prefabricated wraps. Most of these products will have same guidelines as ice bags—20 to 30 minutes with elevation—but make sure to follow the directions provided. These can be put back in the freezer and reused throughout the day. If a wrap isn’t included, apply in a similar fashion to the ideal scenario described above to avoid direct skin contact.

Chemical Packs

Chemical Packs are convenient because they cool immediately without needing a freezer. Cold is produced as a byproduct of a chemical reaction in the pack. The danger of chemical packs is a potential chemical burn if the pack were to leak. The temperatures can be inconsistent and the packs cannot be reused. Follow the directions on the packaging.

Game Ready

Game Ready is the Cadillac of cryotherapy. It’s like a souped-up ice bucket that gives you control over temperature, time, and compression. The downside: It’s the priciest option. Plus, you need a physician’s script to pick one up.

Athletes need to consume adequate energy during periods of high-intensity and/or long-duration training to maintain body weight and health and maximize training effects. Low energy intakes can result in loss of muscle mass; menstrual dysfunction; loss of or failure to gain bone density; an increased risk of fatigue, injury, and illness; and a prolonged recovery process.

Body weight and composition should not be used as the sole criterion for participation in sports; daily weigh-ins are discouraged. Optimal body fat levels depend on the sex, age, and heredity of the athlete and may be sport-specific. Body fat assessment techniques have inherent variability and limitations. Preferably, weight loss (fat loss) should take place during the off-season or begin before the competitive season and involve a qualified sports dietitian.

Protein recommendations for endurance and strength-trained athletes range from 1.2 to 1.7 g·kg−1 body weight·d−1 (0.5-0.8 g·lb−1 body weight·d−1). These recommended protein intakes can generally be met through diet alone, without the use of protein or amino acid supplements. Energy intake sufficient to maintain body weight is necessary for optimal protein use and performance.

Fat intake should range from 20% to 35% of total energy intake. Consuming ≤20% of energy from fat does not benefit performance. Fat, which is a source of energy, fat-soluble vitamins, and essential fatty acids, is important in the diets of athletes. High-fat diets are not recommended for athletes.

Athletes who restrict energy intake or use severe weight-loss practices, eliminate one or more food groups from their diet, or consume high- or low-carbohydrate diets of low micronutrient density are at greatest risk of micronutrient deficiencies. Athletes should consume diets that provide at least the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for all micronutrients.

Dehydration (water deficit in excess of 2-3% body mass) decreases exercise performance; thus, adequate fluid intake before, during, and after exercise is important for health and optimal performance. The goal of drinking is to prevent dehydration from occurring during exercise and individuals should not drink in excess of sweating rate. After exercise, approximately 16-24 oz (450-675 mL) of fluid for every pound (0.5 kg) of body weight lost during exercise.

Before exercise, a meal or snack should provide sufficient fluid to maintain hydration, be relatively low in fat and fiber to facilitate gastric emptying and minimize gastrointestinal distress, be relatively high in carbohydrate to maximize maintenance of blood glucose, be moderate in protein, be composed of familiar foods, and be well tolerated by the athlete.

During exercise, primary goals for nutrient consumption are to replace fluid losses and provide carbohydrates (approximately 30-60 g·h−1) for maintenance of blood glucose levels. These nutrition guidelines are especially important for endurance events lasting longer than an hour when the athlete has not consumed adequate food or fluid before exercise or when the athlete is exercising in an extreme environment (heat, cold, or high altitude).

After exercise, dietary goals are to provide adequate fluids, electrolytes, energy, and carbohydrates to replace muscle glycogen and ensure rapid recovery. A carbohydrate intake of approximately 1.0-1.5 g·kg−1 body weight (0.5-0.7 g·lb−1) during the first 30 min and again every 2 h for 4-6 h will be adequate to replace glycogen stores. Protein consumed after exercise will provide amino acids for building and repair of muscle tissue.

In general, no vitamin and mineral supplements are required if an athlete is consuming adequate energy from a variety of foods to maintain body weight. Supplementation recommendations unrelated to exercise, such as folic acid for women of childbearing potential, should be followed. A multivitamin/mineral supplement may be appropriate if an athlete is dieting, habitually eliminating foods or food groups, is ill or recovering from injury, or has a specific micronutrient deficiency. Single-nutrient supplements may be appropriate for a specific medical or nutritional reason (e.g., iron supplements to correct iron deficiency anemia).

This joint position statement is authored by the American Dietetic Association (ADA), Dietitians of Canada (DC), and American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). The content appears in ADA style. This paper is being published concurrently in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise® and in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, and the Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research. Individual name recognition is reflected in the acknowledgments at the end of the statement.